Chicago Bears defensive rookies dominate in win over the Patriots

The Chicago Bears win against the New England Patriots was undoubtedly the most complete this team has looked all season, with both the offense and defense performing strongly for the first time in primetime.

After a “mini-bye” due to the Bears’ appearance on Thursday Night Football during Week 6, the Monday Night game showed that not only did Coach Matt Eberflus get the team ready to perform but that the players are starting to buy in more to the schemes and fundamentals of this new Chicago Bears regime.

Despite Coach Bill Belichick’s public breakdown of the Bears’ offense, as well as an apparent quarterback controversy that only got worse for the Patriots, the Chicago Bears came into Monday Night confidant and ready, and it showed in every minute of the Bears’ 33-14 victory.

While most of the attention rests on the Bears’ 243 rushing yards, the defense, especially the rookies, stood out as absolute game-changers. Safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Kyler Gordon, both second-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, both notched their first career interceptions against the Patriots.

Brisker tallied seven tackles, second on the Bears to only Roquan Smith, and had an athletic, one-handed interception (seen below) against quarterback Mac Jones, which occurred shortly after receiving a cleat to the groin during an awkward Jones scramble and slide. Gordon, in a similarly athletic play, need only one hand to snatch the ball from replacement quarterback Bailey Zappe in the fourth quarter, which would end up being the dagger the Chicago Bears were looking for to effectively end the game.

For both young defensive backs, it was encouraging to see not only how athletic they are, but how they are slowly starting to develop into system players. Brisker’s interception came as he was settling back into the outside coverage in a Cover 3 scheme, whereas we usually see him in the box, and Gordon’s pick came when he was in the slot, a position we have seen him struggle to get the hang of after being primarily a boundary corner at the University of Washington.

Outside of the Bears’ top two picks from last year’s draft, fifth-round draft pick Dominique Robinson played well in rotation at the defensive end position and forced a turnover himself. Robinson tipped a pass at the line that would go on to get picked by middle linebacker Roquan Smith, and alongside a handful of pressure, the rookie defensive end made his presence felt throughout the game.

The Bears’ defensive rookies certainly changed the outcome of the game, accounting for three of the four turnovers the team forced on Monday Night Football. This is very encouraging, not only for these players and their future with the team but with Coach Matt Eberflus’s defensive coaching and game plans, as well as his and general manager Ryan Poles’ ability to find solid contributors in all rounds of the NFL Draft.

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There is still much work to be done and progress to be made on both sides of the ball in order for the Chicago Bears to truly compete in the NFL, but Monday night was certainly a strong and defiant step in the right direction.